"Erstwhile founder and current felon Elizabeth Holmes may have drastically overstated her claims by saying you could take a bunch of affordable health tests with one drop of blood, but the company was trying to address a real problem.Many people get a panel of blood tests as part of their routine wellness check, and they're not fun at all. Blood tests are inconvenient to schedule. You have to fast for at least eight hours beforehand for many of them, and it's hell if you're scared of needles."
"This year, fitness tracker companies like Oura and Whoop began offering blood panels as part of their subscription services, albeit with an additional surcharge. Ultrahuman also offers a blood panel called Blood Vision, which we have not yet tested because the Ultrahuman ring is no longer sold in the United States."
"I booked through the respective apps, starved myself (OK, didn't eat or drink caffeine for eight hours) for multiple test dates, and had my blood drawn for 11 total vials at the same Quest Diagnostics, where the technicians probably decided I had some weird Twilight fetish. (Disclosure: Both Oura and Whoop covered the out-of-pocket cost for me, and both the devices and the tests are HSA- and FSA-eligible.) I compared these labs to others I had done with my doctor. Here's what I discovered."
Fitness tracker companies have begun offering consumer blood panels as subscription add-ons, often with extra surcharges. Ultrahuman markets a Blood Vision panel but its ring is no longer sold in the United States. Several direct-access tests are limited by state laws and exclude Arizona, Hawaii, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Consumers must book tests through each company's app, and many routine panels require at least eight hours of fasting and venous blood draws. Samples are processed at third-party labs such as Quest Diagnostics. Some companies cover out-of-pocket costs, and devices and tests can be HSA- and FSA-eligible.
Read at WIRED
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